Ball and Chain

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Ball and Chain is a Blue song of American rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter Big Mama Thornton but was published, which was created in 1961 until the 1968th Although the song did not appear in the record charts , it became one of the singer's best known. The performance by Janis Joplin later played a decisive role in the world success of Ball and Chain .

Song content

The title Ball and Chain can be traced back to the symbol of a prisoner who has no way of escaping adverse circumstances due to a prisoner's ball attached to a chain around his ankle. With this picture Thornton describes the dependence of a loving woman on her husband. With the song she alluded to the oppression within marriage.

publication

Thornton recorded various songs for Bay-Tone Records in the early 1960s . Two of them were released as singles, You Did Me Wrong and Big Mama's Blues . The Billboard magazine was convinced limited by the songs. Although they were attested to have a certain sales potential (“moderate sales potential”), this should not be enough for the magazine's hit list. Thornton agreed with songwriter Gillian Gaar to write another song, Ball and Chain . This was recorded in 1961 for the Bay-Tone label , but never released there.

Thornton's version of Ball and Chain was released in 1968 by the American label Arhoolie Records . It was a recording from January 1968. An edited version of the single was released as "Ball and Chain Part 1", while the full four and a half minute version appeared on the Ball and Chain album . Thornton was accompanied by a small band in which Edward "Bee" Houston stood out on the guitar. Thornton played the song several times on the occasion of live and studio performances, where it was released in 1969 on the album "Stronger Than Dirt", which hit the Billboard 200 charts .

Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company

Janis Joplin was an avowed fan of Big Mama Thornton. According to James Gurley, guitarist of Big Brother and the Holding Company , the band whose singer Joplin was initially, she and other members of the group had heard Thornton's song for the first time in the Both / And Club in San Francisco. After Thornton allowed the song to be used, Joplin played Ball and Chain live at all of their performances, using it as their signature tune. With the Holding Company she played the song in a slower blues rhythm in minor , with stop phases and rockier. At the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival it was performed in front of an enthusiastic audience. A version with a long guitar solo from June 17th was not recorded on film, but the performance on the following day, without an extended solo. However, there is a recording of the first version that was released in 1995 on the Best of 18 Essential Songs . Another version was played and recorded on March 8, 1968 in Fillmore East ; this was released on the band's second album, Cheap Thrills , in the summer of 1968 and made Ball and Chain known internationally. Other versions are included on the albums Live at Winterland '68 , Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968 , The Woodstock Experience , Live in Amsterdam and In Concert (released after Joplin's death) .

Other versions

Half Japanese played the song on their album Sing No Evil (1984). Etta James leaned on her version of Ball and Chain , which she recorded for her album Blues Down Deep: Songs of Janis Joplin (1997), on the version on the album Cheap Thrills .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lyrics
  2. ↑ Ball and Chain by Janis Joplin at Songfacts.com (English), accessed on August 24, 2019.
  3. ^ Billboard, "Reviews and Ratings of New Records," (May 15, 1961)
  4. ^ Joel Whitburn, Top R&B Singles 1942-1988, Record Research, Inc., p. 411, 1988. ISBN 0-89820-068-7 .
  5. ↑ Gillian Gaar, She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll , Seattle: Seal Press 1992; P. 4. ISBN 978-1-58005-078-4 .
  6. ↑ Bill Dahl (author), Michael Erlewine (ed.): All Music Guide to the Blues , Miller Freeman Books. Page 251 (1996). ISBN 0-87930-424-3 .
  7. ↑ Review by Tom Schulte (Bee Houston)
  8. ^ Myra Friedman, Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin , Crown Publishing Group 2011, p. 334. ISBN 978-0-307-79052-1 (German translation as Die Story von Janis Joplin. ("Buried Alive"). Hannibal -Verlag, St. Andrä-WIERT 2002, ISBN 3-85445-169-5 )
  9. ↑ Michael Spörke Big Mama Thornton: The Life and Music , Jefferson: McFarland, 2014. Chapter 7, Ball and Chain
  10. ↑ Christopher S. Fuqua, Alabama Musicians: Musical Heritage from the Heart of Dixie The History Press, Charleston 2011, p. 123
  11. ↑ Show 47 - Sergeant Pepper at the Summit: The very best of a very good year, Part 3
  12. ^ Edited by Peter Buckley, The Rough Guide to Rock Ball and Chain at the Monterey Pop Festival